Clockwork
by TheGirlin404
Summary: A short story that started with a one shot of Easton Corbin's song Clockwork. Just read it and see what you think. You can always let me know what you think about it.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Everyone! So I know I said when I ended You Can Have It that I would be taking a break for a time from writing for this show. I also promised that if I did end up writing anything for R&I that I would make sure to get it out there, so I'm keeping that promise. I have listened to Easton Corbin's song Clockwork numerous times and for a long time I've thought it could make a good Jane and Maura story. Now I'm presenting you with that idea. Enjoy!**

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><p>Clockwork<p>

It was Friday night yet again. She sat on the couch flipping through the channels. She couldn't find a game to settle on. None of them seemed to be particularly interesting, so she just continued to flip.

She landed on one of the games for a moment and took a sip of her beer. She'd just swallowed when her phone began to ring. She knew instantly who the call would be from. Not because of the ringtone, though that was a dead giveaway too, but because it was nearing the time. The woman was precise, like clockwork.

"Hello?" she answered questioningly, as though she had no idea who would be on the other end of the line.

"What are you doing?" came the sultry voice at the other end of the phone.

"Watching TV," she replied nonchalantly. She was always sitting on the couch watching TV and drinking a beer when the call came. It was like the woman already knew what she was doing, but felt that she should ask anyway just as a formality.

Was she really that predictable; the fact that she was always doing the same thing? Or was she just comfortable with the life that she had? She wasn't sure. That might be something they should talk about some time.

"I'll be there," in a sexy voice was all she heard before the clicks and beep that signaled that the call had been ended.

She pulled her phone away from her ear and flopped it down on the sofa next to her. She took another sip of beer and ran her other hand through her wild mane of hair. All she could do now was wait.

The sound on the TV was turned down so a few minutes later she could hear the high heels as they clacked down the hallway towards her door. It was that slow, determined walk she had that was all business. She would be in a hurry tonight.

Seconds later a key slid inside the lock and fluidly turned to throw back the bolt inside. She key was removed as she stepped through the doorway. The door closed almost silently behind her. She slid her hand through her dark mane once more as she looked over at the clock that hung on the wall from her seat on the couch; yep 10:47, always right on time.

Again the slow, determined walk she had as the heels clicked against the hardwood floor in her apartment. First they neared the breakfast bar. No doubt so she could set her purse and keys down there. A few seconds later they came up behind her on the couch and stopped.

She could feel her hovering right behind her. The slowly she felt hands touch her shoulders and start to rub them. God did those hands know how to give a massage. She loved being on the receiving end of one. Tonight though she tried not to show just how much she was enjoying it. The she felt her start to lean over. She saw a flash of honey blonde in her peripheral vision.

Lips gently brushed her cheek and a series of light kisses were placed before she heard, "Well hello," husked right into her ear.

She felt a fire explode through her whole body instantaneously. God, what those two little words could always do to her. Whatever she had told herself about remaining strong and saying no tonight was out the window. She was going to fall hard and fast if she didn't control herself.

Somebody could probably get rich off of her if they made bets on really her saying yes when she kept saying she would say no. It was a weekly thing now; she wasn't going to do this anymore. She didn't want to be second choice or a mistress or whatever she had become, but every week she found walking down the same street and she always fell into the same trap.

"Jane," the whispered word pulled her from her internal struggle.

She shifted and leaned back slightly so that her face would be farther away from Maura's when she turned her head. She looked Maura in the eyes.

"Are you alright?" Maura asked her.

No, she wasn't really; but she couldn't vocalize anything, so she just nodded in response. Her eyes flicked back to the TV screen and Maura's eyes followed her gaze. "Oh, the game. Sorry, I know it's almost over."

She stood then and made her way around the couch and sat next to Jane. Not close enough that they were touching, but closer than Jane would have preferred. They sat still next to each other for a time just staring at the screen.

Just like earlier Jane didn't care about the game, but it gave her time to think about what she was doing. Hoping that for once instead of just standing in front of the freight train that was coming she could move for once. It wasn't long though before that became impossible.

Jane felt Maura's body slowly start to creep towards hers on the couch. Her arm slid behind her head. Seconds later Maura's hand was tangling itself in her dark wild locks. Her fingers slowly massaging the base of her neck and into her scalp. Jane was certain she had just melted into a pool of liquid on the couch.

"I've missed your lips," came Maura's sultry voice. That was all it took.

Jane turned her head and before she even had time to think about it her lips were locked with Maura's in an intense kiss. Both were hungry for the other and they battled for dominance.

Faster than Jane though humanly possible Maura was on her lap straddling her on the couch. Jane pulled her in closer so she could feel their bodies together. Maura's hands tangled in her hair once again as she leaned back breathless from their kiss.

"Bedroom," Maura said between heaving breaths. The intakes of breath gave Jane a nice view of some of her favorite Maura assets, but she knew she had a better one waiting for her just down the hall.

She helped Maura off her lap and stood herself. Before she could take a step though Maura was back on her. This time though, going for the pulse point of her neck. Jane just bent her head to give Maura better access. A moan slipping from her lips as Maura found it and nipped her there; instantly soothing her mark with her tongue.

Maura took a step forward meaning Jane had to take a step backwards; towards the bedroom. That was as far as they would make it for the moment. Jane reached out and pulled Maura into her letting her hands roam up and down Maura's back and down to where she could cup another one of Maura's assets that she loved.

Maura moaned her name at the feeling and Jane started moving her hands around the dress trying to find the hidden zipper she knew had to be on the dress somewhere. "It's on the side," Maura panted between breaths.

She reached over and started to slide down the zipper. She didn't get it all the way down before Maura's hands reached out and slipped underneath her BPD shirt. They splayed out on her abs and she couldn't help the muscle contractions that occurred with the touch.

"I have really missed your lips this week," Maura said again just before she captured Jane's passionately once more. This time she took several steps so they made it to the short hall that lead to the one bedroom of the apartment.

With one arm wrapped around Maura's waist Jane used the other to continue working at the zipper of the dress. She finally had it all the way down about halfway to the bedroom. They stopped so Maura could step out of it. Jane was sure she would want to stoop down and pick it up so it could at least be laid neatly across something in the bedroom to avoid any wrinkles.

To her surprise though Maura left it. They only made it a couple more steps before Maura started tugging on Jane's shirt signaling for it to come off. Jane obliged, tossing it somewhere down the hall. For all she knew it could have ended up in the living room; she wasn't too concerned about it.

It was Maura's turn to slip her hands around Jane's waist. Her fingertips caressing the bare skin and then barely dipping below the waistline of Jane's pants before continuing up her back. Each time though Jane notice that her hands slipped farther and farther below the waistline.

Jane, meanwhile, had kissed her way from Maura's mouth down her jaw and across her neck. She had made her way to the point she knew always caused Maura's breath to hitch and to moan a little. She couldn't help the smirk that found its way to her face as she continued to kiss and nip at the spot.

Somewhere along the way they had made it into the bedroom. The back of Jane's knees not hit the foot of the bed. She had crashed, just like clockwork.

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><p>Jane lay with Maura half on top of her. Maura's head was resting on her chest over her heart; listening to its steady rhythm. Jane had her arm wrapped around Maura's back.<p>

They always ended up in some form of this position afterwards. At times exactly like this and others Maura would be holding her instead. As much as she wished it would, it never lasted.

Maura started to shift like she was getting out of the bed. "Don't," Jane pleaded. "Stay with me," she practically begged her.

"I would love to," Maura said as she leaned in and placed a light peck to Jane's lips, "but I can't. Jack and I are going out to breakfast in the morning and it's getting late."

Jane sat in silence. She didn't know what to say. She didn't understand why Maura would keep seeing him if she was over here every week sleeping with her. Why couldn't they have a relationship? They were already sleeping together what was stopping them from having the rest of it. Hell, half the department already assumed they were a couple, so why weren't they already?

"Stay," Jane said fervidly. "We'll go out to breakfast tomorrow. We can spend the day together doing whatever you want. Just stay with me." She was looking into Maura's hazel eyes; her own pleading for Maura to stay with her.

"I would if I could," Maura said halfheartedly, "but I've already made the commitment to it. I can't back out now. She leaned in and placed one more loving, but farewell, kiss to Jane's lips and slipped out of the bed.

Jane sat up and leaned back against the headboard of her bed. She watched as Maura gathered her scattered articles of clothing and stepped into them. She continued to sit there as she heard Maura's heels click down the hall and through the living room where she stopped at the breakfast bar and grabbed her purse and keys. She stayed still as the heard the clicking headed towards the door, heard the door open, and at last close behind her.

A tear slid down her cheek. It was always the same, like a movie she'd seen a thousand times. She hated the end, but she always hit rewind. Maura would call, she'd show up, say she'd missed Jane, they'd kiss and there they would go again. Then came the crash, the burn, Maura would leave, and she'd hurt. Like clockwork.

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading! I will hopefully see y'all around again soon. As always I'd love to hear what you think in a review!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't remember if I said this in the first chapter or not, but I own nothing related to R&I. I just like to have a little bit of fun with the characters from time to time.**

**AN: So, I just want to say thank you to all of you who favorited, followed, and left me a review on this story. I don't think I've had as many reviewers beg me to continue a story as you all have done with this one. So, I said I'd try to continue it at least at least a little bit. This chapter is that result. I am sorry it took so long, but my schedule is pretty busy now that I'm in college once again. I hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!**

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><p>She pulled her car in to the only parking spot she could find at the moment. Honestly, she was lucky there even was one this time of night on a Friday. She pulled the key from the ignition and opened her car door. She stepped out on the sidewalk and beeped the Mercedes closed as she started to saunter away on her high heels.<p>

About a block down, Maura reached her destination. She glanced at the sign over the door for a moment, stalling going inside. She had no idea why it was she felt like she needed to come here tonight. She hadn't been here since they had done the undercover work for one of their cases.

Jack was out of town at a conference and Jane had started to pull away a couple of weeks ago. Turning down their end of the week ritual they had had going for months. Maura didn't know what to do. More than anything she wanted Jane, but right now Jane wouldn't have her. She needed some company, but she didn't want to be anywhere her usual friends could find her. She needed something different. So, she had decided to come back to Merch.

Though she easily got in the door, the place was fairly well occupied. Women of all kinds, everywhere she looked. Then again, that was the reason they were all here wasn't it? She slid her way through the crowd of women and over to the bar. For reasons she couldn't understand right now she really needed some liquid courage.

Maura caught the attention of the bartender and she quickly slid Maura's glass in front of her. Without any kind of ritual Maura grabbed the tumbler and downed the amber liquid inside. She nearly choked as the liquid felt like a fire burning her throat as it went down.

She signaled back to the bartender, who had barely just left her, and motioned for another drink. The bartender gave her a look, but quickly poured her another. Maura took her fresh drink and turned around on her barstool to get a better look at the bar; well club was actually a little more like it. There was enough room for the large bar in the establishment, a good sized dance floor, and quite a few tables.

The dance floor was packed with women. Maura liked the view, but to be out there in the middle of it wasn't someplace she thought she'd like. If she were going to dance with a partner she preferred to be on a ballroom floor; she had, after all, spent a few years taking ballroom lessons. She loved the structure of the dances and the closeness between partners during the Latin dances.

Maura sat back and watched all the women dancing for a while as she worked on a couple more drinks. Every so often her eyes would drift around the bar and take a look at the women who were around her talking to each other. She seemed to keep catching the eye of a brunette woman across the bar from her.

Maura took one more look around the bar and noticed that the woman was no longer at the bar. She felt a little bit sad about that fact. She had planned to get up and talk to her after the next song was over. She turned on her barstool back towards the bar and sat contemplating.

A few moments later she felt a presence beside her. "So, can I buy you a drink?" a sultry voiced asked her. She turned her head to see the brunette woman standing at her side smiling at her.

The woman had the most brilliant blue eyes she had ever seen. If she were made to describe them she would almost have to say that they were a turquoise color. "Are you alright?" the voice questioned her.

That woke her out of her stupor taking in a breath that she didn't realize she had been denying herself. "Yes," Maura answered almost breathlessly. "Sorry," she also apologized for acting like her typical socially awkward self.

"No, please. I apologize. I know I must have startled you. So, do you mind if I sit here?" the woman politely asked her.

"Please sit," Maura told her. She looked over at her glass, already knowing it was still half full and that she didn't need another drink right away. "Why don't I buy you a drink instead? I'm not due for a refill for a while, but you look like you could use one."

"Then I'd say, yes, I could use another drink," the brunette said to her as she took a seat at the barstool right beside her. They motioned the bartender over and placed the order. She came back a few moments later with the drink and set it right in front of Maura's new companion. "So, do I at least get to know the name of the pretty woman who bought me a drink tonight?" the woman asked her.

Suddenly Maura was glad that she had decided she needed that liquid courage because in this instance it really did give her courage. "Well, I suppose that depends on if I get to meet the name of pretty lady who offered to buy me a drink tonight," Maura replied to her.

The woman flashed her a dazzling smile before replying, "Kennedy."

"Maura," she responded.

"Well Maura, it's a pleasure to meet you. And thank you for the drink."

"The pleasure is all mine, Kennedy. Might I say that is a lovely name; I hear that it has made the top one hundred girl names list by the Social Security Administration. Though I don't think that it was quite as popular around…" She halted there. Apparently alcohol couldn't stop all of her googlemouth.

"It wasn't quite as popular around when?" Kennedy asked her with a sly grin on her face.

Maura grinned as well, but a blush formed on her cheeks. She was glad that she had caught herself before she had said something that would imply she was insinuating about the age of the woman beside her.

"Excuse me for just a moment," Maura said as she rose from her barstool.

"Whoa," Kennedy said as she reached out and laid her hand on Maura's shoulder. "You're coming back, right? I'd really like to finish that conversation." She smiled a sincere smile up at the beautiful woman beside her.

Maura smiled back saying, "Yes, I'll be back momentarily."

Maura left the bar and made her way around the room to where she had seen the restroom earlier. She hated to leave Kennedy, but she felt like she needed to get out of there for just a few minutes in order to calm herself back down. She didn't know why she felt so awkward around the other woman.

She moved down the hall towards the restroom. She was surprised to find there wasn't a line she had to wait in. She stepped inside, but quickly judged from the sounds it wasn't a place she needed to be right now. She didn't care what women did where, but she wasn't up for listening to it right now.

Maura stepped back into the hallway where it was a little bit quieter than the rest of the club and took a few deep breaths to try and calm her nerves. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing here. Yes, she had originally come with the intention of finding a woman to leave with and Kennedy could very much be that woman, but when she thought about it deep down there was only one person that she wanted. She wanted Jane.

She took a few more breaths and decided that she would go back out to Kennedy. She would politely excuse herself and then get a cab to Jane's apartment and talk it out with her. She had been a fool the night she had left Jane's apartment when Jane had asked her to stay. At this moment there wasn't one decision in her life that she regretted more than leaving that night and she would do anything to make Jane listen to her.

Maura made her way back over to the bar. It had become significantly more packed in the few minutes she had been gone. She tried making her way through the crowd of women, but it wasn't easy. She was nearly back to where Kennedy was seated when she bumped into a woman who was headed in the opposite direction. "Oh, pardon me," she said.

"No, my faul-" The familiar face got out before recognition set in.

"Jane," Maura barely choked out.

"Maura," Jane said in reply.

"I was just about to catch a cab and head to your apartment," Maura confessed.

"Really?" she questioned.

"Yes, I wanted to say that-"

"Jane, there you are. I was beginning to think you had gotten lost," a redhead said interrupting what would have been Maura's apology.

The woman walked straight over to Jane and wrapped her arms around her waist, almost possessively. Maura realized then that Jane was on a date. Something inside of her felt like it broke at that moment.

"Who's this?" the redhead asked.

"Oh, yes, of course. Maura, I'd like you to meet Abby. Abby, this is Dr. Maura Isles. She is the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, so we work together on nearly every case I get," Jane supplied as greeting for the two.

"Ah, nice to meet you Dr. Isles," Abby chimed in.

"My pleasure," Maura replied. She knew she needed to get out of here fast before she did something irrational. "Well, I think I'll be going now and let you get back to your date."

Maura turned on her heel and made her way as quickly as she could to the exit. Tears started to make their way down her cheeks before she could get out of the building. How could she have been so stupid and selfish she asked herself? She couldn't expect an amazing woman like Jane to just wait around until she had decided she had had all the fun she wanted out of someone else.

She made it outside the building and the crisp air hit her skin cooling it. It made her feel slightly better, but tears still streamed down her face. She hailed a cab and got in and gave the driver her address. What was she going to do now that she had lost Jane? She couldn't imagine her life without her.

She never even made it back to say goodbye to Kennedy.

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading! I do hope you liked it and I will hopefully have another chapter up soon. I can't promise a time though. As always, I'd love to hear whatever you have to say about this chapter!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: The usual, I still don't own it. Never have, probably never will. **

**AN: Ok, I know I said it would be a while between updates and here I am again already with another one. Consider yourselves lucky I guess. I don't know what else to tell ya. Thank you all of you who have favorited, followed, and reviewed. It means a lot. **

**Speaking of reviews. Eve, congratulations on having my longest review to date on any of my stories. Thank you so much for it. I wish there was a way to PM you because you brought up a lot of valid points and things that I would like to respond to, but it would take all day. Don't take Maura's relationship with Jack too seriously. I see it as more of a distraction for her from the fact that she loves Jane and is just afraid to commit. As far as Jane goes, she will still have a lot of questions and hopefully this chapter will make that a little more clear. **

**Also, to the guest reviewer who said this is lame, thank you. I laughed quite a bit at your review. That was not the end of the story my good reader and frankly I think you should keep the idea of "you know what happens when you assume" in mind before you start saying that every author makes Maura end up alone while Jane is happy with someone else. Read some of my other stories if you think that. But to each their own I guess. I do hope you will keep reading the story to see where I am going with it.**

**Thank you all! Now back to the reading. Enjoy!**

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><p>"You can't hide down here forever," the words startled Maura from her reading of an autopsy report. She tensed slightly and looked over at the doorway where the voice came from. Quickly though, she returned to the report on the computer in front of her.<p>

Jane scoffed a little and sighed. It had been days since their run-in at Merch and Maura had been trying to avoid her as much as possible since then; which wasn't easy since they did have crime scenes where they had interact. Personally though, Maura had been giving her the silent treatment. She couldn't believe Maura was really acting this way. She had no right to try and think she was the injured party in all of this. She had tried to open herself to Maura, to and get them to take the next step and have an actual relationship and Maura had bailed on her. Then, Maura shows up at Merch.

Jane stepped inside Maura's office and closed the door behind her. "You owe me, at the very least, an explanation." She tried to sound cool and collected, but anger was starting to leech out into her words. She stood there waiting, her arms crossed over her chest.

Maura just sat behind her desk. She knew Maura would probably be a little upset after Merch, but she hadn't expected her to act like this. The truth was Abby was just a friend. They had gone to high school together, though at that time they weren't in the same group of friends.

After Maura had walked away from her, she was hurt and didn't really know where to turn or who she could talk to about it. So, one night she had gone to Merch. She wasn't sure why exactly, but she went. She had run into Abby there and they had started talking. Abby had listened to what she had to say and helped her work out some things she needed to figure out.

Sometime later in the night Abby had confessed she'd had a crush on her and then asked her out. She politely refused, but the woman wouldn't take no for an answer. She had asked her all week to go out on Friday and since she didn't want to be alone on what would have normally been her night with Maura she had reluctantly agreed. Jane had just gone to get another round of drinks and to tell Abby that she didn't return the same kind of feelings she bumped into Maura.

Maura still hadn't spoken. Jane could tell by now that she was just staring at the screen waiting to see what would happen next. She decided to try a different approach. "You said you were about to head to my apartment and you started to say something before you were interrupted. What was it? Why were you going to go to my apartment?"

Maura looked away from the computer screen and met her eyes. Jane could see the emotion in her eyes. There was a part of Maura ready to break down and talk, but another part was being so stubborn. Jane slowly walked over to Maura's desk. She uncrossed her arms and leaned over placing her hands on the edge of the desk.

"Tell me," Jane pleaded. "Whatever it was you had to say, just tell me, please."

Maura looked at her still. Tears were starting to form in her eyes. How could she tell Jane now? How could she tell her that that night she had realized she was in love with her only to find out she had already moved on? How could she tell her that she loved her so much, no matter if she was with someone else, she had broken it off with Jack the next day telling him she was in love with someone else.

"I ca- can't," Maura choked out with her voice cracking. Tears now started to make their way down her face. She hated the fact that she was now crying in front of Jane.

It tugged on Jane's heart to see Maura crying like that. Even if they were arguing about something Maura was still her best friend and she hated to see her upset. She stood and rounded Maura's desk. Maura now had her face in her hands and was trying to ignore the fact that Jane was still present in the room with her. Jane pulled the chair back slightly and pulled Maura up so she was standing. Jane wrapped the smaller woman in her arms.

"You can tell me anything Maur. You're my best friend, and my best friend and the woman I fell in love with always used to be able to tell me anything." Jane placed a light kiss on the top her head as she held on just a little bit tighter trying to give Maura some kind of comfort.

Hearing those words only made Maura sob harder into Jane's shoulder; Jane had fallen in love with her. She wondered how long ago Jane knew that she was in love. She wished at that moment she had figured out sooner that she loved Jane too and she could have saved herself this heartache. They could be planning a date instead of standing here trying to figure out what was really going on between them.

Sobs wracked her body for a few more minutes. All the while Jane stood there holding her. She rubbed her hands up and down her back and whispered words of comfort saying that everything would be alright. Maura couldn't believe she had been such a fool to give up a chance with a woman as wonderful as Jane.

Finally, Maura broke their embrace. She put a few steps between them so she could grab a tissue from the box on her desk to try her eyes. She noticed that Jane slid her hands into her pockets, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

Maura knew that she needed to say something to Jane. She knew that she needed to tell her what was going on and what had been the cause of her breaking down like that, but she just didn't know how to put it into words. She could explain what feelings were, she could explain what a lot of things were, but it had always been hard for her to explain her feelings.

"I'm sorry," she managed to get out. Aside from the apology she had intended to give Jane the night she saw her at Merch there were only three other words she wanted to say, but she couldn't bring herself to say them.

Jane looked up at her, catching her eyes when she heard the apology. Her face was expressionless though and Maura had no idea what she might be thinking. Then she had an idea. If she couldn't get herself to say the words that she was feeling maybe she could show Jane how she felt.

She closed the distance between them once again and leaned in capturing Jane's lips with her own. It was different than the ones they shared on their Friday nights together. Those times they were hungry and insistent with only one thing in mind. This time though Maura kissed her sweetly, trying to pour all of the love that she felt for Jane into the kiss.

She felt Jane melt into the kiss and her heart started to beat even faster than it was already. It only lasted for a moment before Jane pulled away and broke the kiss.

"We can't keep doing this," Jane said once there was some distance between them again. "We can't just end up right back in the same place we were before. I love you, but that's not where I want to end up Maur. I want more. I asked you to give me more and you walked away. I came down here and asked you to give me some kind of explanation. At first you say you can't and then fall apart crying. Then I get an "I'm sorry" and you're kissing me again. I just can't Maur."

With that she turned and headed out of the office. Well, that plan had gone brilliantly Maura thought. She knew now that she was going to have to just come out and tell Jane how she felt. She needed to make her see. She knew that it might be a long shot by now that they could have a relationship together, but she had to at least tell her. She just needed to find the best way to do it.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading and sticking with me on this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will hopefully be back with another one soon. I look forward to that time. And, as always, I'd love to hear what you think!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hey y'all! Just want to say a big thank you to all of you who have read, followed, favorited, and reviewed. It's meant so much to me. Without your reviews and pleas for more this story would probably still be a one shot. Anyway, sorry this has taken a little bit longer for me to get out to you, but thanks for sticking around with me until I could. Enjoy!**

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><p>She made her way down the stairs. She could tell from the smells and the clanging of pots and pans that Angela was already in her kitchen. Now was a good a time as any to talk to Angela about dinner tonight.<p>

"Good morning Maura," Angela said gaily as she made her way into the kitchen.

"Morning Angela," she replied in as happy of a tone as she could manage. Honestly, she kind of felt like a nervous wreck. She noticed that bunny pancakes were already in a pan and there was coffee already made. She smiled a little at the fact that the bunny pancakes were already going. It might be a little childish of her, but she really did like them, and it was sweet that Angela continued to make them for her.

Maura made her way over to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. "It smells wonderful Angela."

"Thank you. I hope you like it."

"You know I always enjoy your bunny pancakes," she replied with a sincere smile lighting up her face. "I was wondering if we could talk about dinner tonight though?"

"Ok?" Angela asked her questioningly. "What about dinner tonight?"

She had to be careful about how she phrased this. The last thing she wanted to happen was to end up with hives. She didn't necessarily like that she was lying either, but it was necessary. "I was wondering if dinner could be moved to your house tonight?"

"Oh, are you having company over tonight? Of course we can move it over to my house," Angela replied giddily.

"No, I'm not having company over tonight. I just have some things that I need to take care of that won't be done before dinner starts and I would prefer to move dinner, this once, to your place."

"Alright, we can do that for tonight. Are you still going to be joining us?"

Here was where she needed to be careful. Yes, she would definitely be at that dinner; at some point. She just wasn't sure if she wanted to be there before it started the way she always had in the past. She wanted to make a little bit more of an entrance this time. "It's a definite possibility," Maura replied noncommittally. "I don't think I'll be able to help you prepare this time like I usually would either."

"That's okay. I'll call Janie and see if she can come help. It's too bad though, it would be fun to have the two of you in the kitchen helping me," Angela said as she slid a plate of bunny pancakes in front of Maura.

"Maybe one of these days we can do that," she commented. That maybe depended on her plan working. Aside from when they had caught a case Jane hadn't spoken to her about anything that wasn't work related. She hadn't even come down to the morgue to try and get her to hurry with an autopsy report. When the report was done she didn't bother taking it upstairs to Jane. Instead she sent it with Susie.

"Is everything okay between you and Jane?" Angela asked as she took her own plate and sat down beside Maura.

Maura finished chewing the piece of pancake in her mouth and then tried to suck in a deep breath as discreetly as she could. This was not territory she wanted to venture into this morning, but she had to say something. "Things have been a little stressed lately. We've been thrown a few cases that have been a little tougher to solve recently and you know how both Jane and I hate to have those that we just can't piece together enough to solve."

"Sounds about right," Angela mused. "Jane hates to have cases go cold or end up unsolved."

They sat and chatted a little while longer about different things as they drank another cup of coffee. Their main topic of conversation was what Angela would prepare for dinner that evening. Maura was thankful that Angela didn't bring up anything more about something going on between her and Jane. She didn't want to have to lie. Though the more she thought about it, she may be doing something worse than lying later. She wasn't sure yet how her idea might go over, but she had to give it a try.

R&I

After finally getting Angela out of the house Maura went upstairs to start getting everything ready. She needed to decide on just the right outfit for tonight. She walked into her closet and started to look around. First, she needed to decide on whether she wanted to go with a dress or possibly go a little more casual. How she normally dressed depended on how formal Angela would consider the dinner. Usually it was fairly casual, but she hadn't ever let that stop her before if she wanted to dress up a little. Tonight was different though.

Maura walked over to the dress section of her closet. She started there, but she couldn't seem to find anything that caught her eye as just the right thing to wear that night. So, she decided to move on to mixing and matching. She tried out several pairings, but still couldn't find anything. They all still seemed a little formal. While this night would be important she still wanted to seem a little relaxed about it too.

She turned and started looking at her jeans. She thought how she really should wear them a little more often. Jane would often ask her to go out places dressed a little more casually than she usually preferred, but she would always oblige Jane's requests. A thought flitted across her mind about possible dressing a little more like Jane did and she started to look around her closet. It wasn't long before she found what she was looking for.

Maura pulled the clothes from her closet and looked at the time. She had picked her outfit just in time; she needed to get going to make it to the florist's. It had taken a couple of days to track down a florist in town who could get what she needed and was open on Sunday so that she could pick them up that day before dinner. She risked someone else discovering them if she had to pick them up the day before and then keep them until dinner the next night.

She unlocked the car and climbed in to head to the florist's. She had the whole grand gesture down. She knew she would need one if she was going to prove to Jane that she wanted to be with her. That's what she had planned for tonight, the grand gesture. However, to go with it she needed the right thing to say; and she still didn't have that just yet. The flowers would go a ways in helping to say the things she had a hard time expressing verbally, but they could only go so far she needed more. Maura pondered it the entire way to the florist's but still didn't have anything she felt right for the situation.

Maura got out of the car and headed into the open shop. The florist was currently helping a man pick out the right flowers for his anniversary, so she decided to browse the shop a little until the florist was free. As she looked around the shop she wondered if she should get something else to take to dinner tonight besides the flowers. Then she remembered she had a few bottles of wine that she had bought a while back that would pair well with the meal Angela was fixing and decided that would take that as well.

"May I help you," a voice startled her out of her thoughts about the wine for dinner.

"Oh, yes," Maura replied as she turned around to the shopkeeper who had finished with the other customer. "I have some flowers I need to pick up. Isles is the name."

"Why yes, Ms. Isles, we spoke on the phone. I've got your order all ready to go right over here."

Maura followed the woman over to a counter. The woman walked behind it and over to a refrigerated case where she pulled out two bouquets of roses. The first bouquet of a dozen being all pink; the second bouquet of a dozen containing a mixed assortment of colored roses.

"Now I hope you don't mind, but blue roses are a little harder to come by so I did the best that I could. I couldn't find any that were truly a deep blue, but I thought that a deep blue would stand out a bit too much from the other colors you requested in the bouquet so I went with a little bit lighter blue. However, not so light that it's like a baby boy blue or anything, or a blue tint that could be construed as lavender. Here, let me just show you," the woman said as she finally gathered up the bouquet and brought it over to show Maura.

"It looks lovely," Maura replied. She gazed down a the bouquet composed of red, white, yellow, orange, and the blue roses. Yes, compared to the other colors any kind of blue would stand out a little, but it was more about what the colors meant than it was about how well the colors looked next to each other. The florist had done an amazing job at arranging them and getting the right shade of the colors so they did complement each other.

"I hope you don't mind my saying this, but it seems as though you have a lot you are trying to say with these bouquets. Especially the mixed bouquet."

Maura looked up from the bouquets and into the eyes of the florist. Who would know better about what she was trying to say with the flowers than a florist? "You could say that."

"Well, she must be one special woman. I hope she knows what all of these mean and understands what you're trying to say to her with all of them."

"I don't know if she will at first or not, but I'm hoping that eventually she will see. Giving her these is all I know to do. I seem to freeze up when I try to say the things to her I really want to say. I've made some mistakes here lately, but I'm hoping these can be a start to saying what it is she means to me. I'm hoping that she will give me one more chance to show her what she means to me."

"Personally, I think she would be crazy if she ignored all the trouble you went through to get flowers for her that said all that these say. But, she was smart enough to choose you once, I'm sure she'll be smart enough to give you one more chance," the florist winked at her at the end of her statement.

Maura flushed a little with embarrassment and handed over the money to pay for the flowers. She then scooped up the two bouquets and made her way out of the shop. A smile played at the corners of her mouth. The words that the florist had said gave her a little bit of hope. Jane had chosen her. Jane had wanted her until she messed things up. Now she could just hope that the florist was right and that Jane would give her one more chance.

R&I

By the time she had gotten back from the florist, got out the bottle of wine she had decided to take, and started to get ready Maura was now running a few minutes late. Though she would get over to Angela's a little earlier than she thought she would. They should be getting started eating by the time she made it, but only just. It's not like she was going to make it only in time for dessert or anything.

Maura took a couple of steps back and looked at herself in her full length mirror. She had decided on dark skinny jeans and a white button up dress shirt. Over that she had put on a pullover sweater and then rolled the cuffs of the shirt up over the ones on the sweater.

It wasn't at all typically what she would wear; she thought of it more of something Jane would wear. Actually she would love to see Jane dressed like this one day, she would have to try and make that happen. But, for tonight she really thought it would look good for tonight. Compared to her normal style this was fairly casual, but she didn't want to go over dressed to dinner. It might seem like she tried too hard if she showed up in something else.

Maura slid into a pair of flats. She hated to do it; she hated going out in anything that was less than three inches, but every pair she tried on with her outfit didn't seem to work. Heels had always helped to even out the height difference between her and Jane and she hated to give that up. Tonight though, it was a sacrifice she was willing to make.

Maura took one last look at herself in the mirror and then made her way downstairs. She walked into the kitchen where she had the wine and the bouquets on the island. She picked them all up and made her way over to the back door leading from the kitchen to the courtyard where she could cross over to the door of the guesthouse.

A couple of short minutes later she found herself standing outside of the front door to the guesthouse. Part of her wanted to turn around and walk back to the main house and not look back, but she knew she couldn't; she had to do this. Before her brain had time to register what her hand was doing she had reached out and hit the doorbell.

She faintly heard voices and the sounds of a chair scooting back. One of them was headed to answer the door. She hoped it was Angela. It was going to be even more awkward if it was Jane or one of her brothers at the door instead.

The door started to open and she heard, "Oh, Maura dear. You made it after all. And just in time too, we've only just started eating."

"Thank you Angela," she stuttered a little as she started to step through the doorway. "Here this can go with dinner if you like," she said as she handed the bottle of wine over to Angela. "And these are for you," she said as she presented Angela with the bouquet of pink roses.

"Oh Maura, they're lovely. What's the occasion?"

"I'm just grateful to have you in my life and thought you might like them." So, that wasn't the whole truth. Pink roses symbolized admiration and gratitude and she very much admired Angela. But she also hoped that if things went terribly tonight the flowers would soften Angela up a bit.

Maura followed Angela the short distance to the dining room of the guest house. Everything stopped and Jane and her brothers looked up. The boys had forks halfway to the mouth. Jane just looked up from her plate.

"I'm just gonna go open this and get these in some water," Angela said as she made her way to the kitchen from the dining room.

Jane just continued to stare and Maura was lost for a moment as to what to say to her. "What's with all the flowers?" Tommy asked as he laughed a little like he was in on some kind of inside joke.

This pulled Maura from her thoughts. "Oh, Jane, these are for you," she said as she stepped closer to where Jane was sitting and holding up the bouquet for her to see.

"Ooooo, has Maura been in the dog house?" Tommy inquired in a suggestive tone; again with a little laugh like he was in on a joke.

If looks could kill the one Jane was now giving Tommy would qualify as killer. Maura kept her eyes on Jane. Frankie sat back in his chair and observed everything that was taking place.

Jane finally returned her attention to Maura. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to say everything that I should have said before, but didn't," Maura replied honestly.

Jane rose from her chair and rounded the table. She took a hold of Maura's arm and led her into the kitchen. Angela was just about to make her way back to the dining room with the now open bottle of wine. "Girls what's…?"

"Not now Ma," Jane interrupted. "Just give us a minute."

"Actually could you just wait a minute?" Maura requested. "I have something that I would like to ask you."

"What is it?" Angela questioned.

This was not going exactly how she had imagined it might, but she was here now and she needed to take a stand and do something. "I would like your permission to date your daughter," Maura spat out hurriedly.

"What!" Angela and Jane both exclaimed at the same time.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jane asked in a hushed tone through clenched teeth.

Angela laid her hand on Maura's forehead. "And Ma, what do you think you're doing?" Jane asked turning her attention to her mother for a moment.

"Just checking to make sure she's not running a fever. She's been acting a little strange here lately so I thought I'd check."

"Ma, just give us a minute," Jane pleaded.

"No," Maura spoke up. She turned to Jane, "I asked a question and I want an answer to it. Angela," she said now looking at the mother of the woman she loved, "Jane and I have had a relationship for a while now. A few weeks back she asked if we could make things more serious and I got scared, so I walked out. It was the biggest mistake of my life. I came tonight to ask your permission to date your daughter so that she understands that I am taking the commitment of a relationship with her as a serious thing. I want to be with her and I want the most important people in our lives to know that we are together."

Both women stood there looking at her. She didn't know what she should do next, but only one thing came to mind. She held up the bouquet of roses she hadn't yet been able to give Jane. "Pink roses are said to symbolize gratitude and joy. I am so grateful to have someone as amazing as you in my life and you bring me more joy and happiness than I ever thought possible. Yellow, is for friendship. It's really the only rose color that is platonic in meaning. You and I started out as friends. Orange speaks of passion and energy, something we both definitely have. Red, of course, stands for love. Jane Clementine Rizzoli I love you more than anyone else in this entire world. I can't imagine my life without you in it and I hope that I never have to experience it. Blue roses often stand for unobtainable things. As if I know I can't have you, but I also can't stop thinking about you. I have made mistakes, I know that, and because of them I may never be able to have you. But, I won't ever stop thinking about you or loving you. And white, which stands for purity and innocence because I came here tonight with the purist of intentions; to apologize for the things I've done, to show you that I am serious about loving and wanting a relationship with you, and to ask that you give me one more chance. I picked the six colors that I felt represented things about us and made sure there were two of each; a pair…This isn't exactly how I thought this might play out in my head, but I think I accomplished what it is I came to do. So, I'll go now."

Tears welled in the eyes of all of the women standing in the room. Maura forced the bouquet into Jane's hands and turned to leave. She was out in the courtyard by the time she felt a hand on her arm to halt her steps.

Maura started to turn, expecting to get an anger fueled rant about what she'd just done. Now that she thought about it the idea of walking into dinner and asking Angela if she could date her daughter wasn't the best idea she'd ever had. In face it was quite imprudent now that she thought it through more.

Before she could think of anything else though, a pair of lips crashed on hers. It took a moment for her brain to register what was happening and she could kiss back. It was intense, but not in the hungry way they normally kissed each other. Maura could feel love in the kiss and the tense feelings she had about Jane being mad at her slipped away with every moment that the kiss lasted.

They broke apart a few moments later when their lungs started to scream for oxygen. Jane leaned down and rested her forehead on Maura's. Her eyes stayed closed as she just breathed.

After a couple of moments of just standing there together like that Jane opened her eyes and looked deeply into Maura's hazel ones. "You can't just walk into dinner and say things like that, make me feel like I've turned into a puddle of goo and then just leave," Jane whispered to Maura. "Especially when you managed to effectively render my mother speechless," she said as she gave a breathy laugh as the thought about the look on her mother's face. "And I kind of like the fact that you're a few inches shorter than I am without your heels."

"Jane I'm…"

Once again Jane's lips were on hers. It was just a short chaste kiss meant to keep her from finishing her sentence. "Just stay," Jane asked of her.

"You couldn't make me go anywhere else if you tried."

**THE END**

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><p><strong>Yeah, as much as I hate to say it this one has come to an end. I had an idea for another chapter, but I think I might just make it a one shot to itself. Anyway, thank you all again for sticking with me on this. I hope you enjoyed this fic and as always, I'd love to hear anything you have to say!<strong>


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